Air cleaner



Oct. 3, 1933.

c. E. SUMMERS 1,929,103

AIR CLEANER Filed Oct. 31. 1927 J Jrmwnloz Patented Oct. 3, 1

Caleb 1:. steam; Pontiac; mch. ssignor w I General Motors'Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a I

corporation of Delaware Application'october 31,1927. Serial no. 2293595 3 clai s. (or. lax-nor ,7

This invention relates to air cleaners and particularly to an air cleaner for use on the air intake of a carbureter of an internal combustion engine.

,It is an object of the invention to provide an air cleanerwhich is simple in construction, e1ficient operation, and which offers practically no resistance to. the passageof a' current of air therethrough. X

It is another object of the invention to provide 19 an air cleaner so mounted that, the air :which enters the cleaner isfirst caused to travel over the outside thereof and so shaped that the current of air passing thereover is given such a motion that the dirt carried thereby is'separated therefrom before the air enters the interior of the cleaner.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide an ,air cleaner connected to the air intake of the, carbureter of an;internal combustion engine and mounted in the path of the curgo rent of air produced by the engine fan so that the 5 air which enters the interior of the cleaner must first pass over its exterior whichis so shaped that the current of air passing thereover isgiven such a motion that the dirt carried thereby is separated from the air before the latter enters the interior of the cleaner.

It is another object of the invention to provide an air cleaner including an open ended body member which is greater in diameter at one end than the other and has inclined side walls between its ends, and, more specifically, to provide an air cleaner such as described. above which is pro-' vided with a baflle plate over and spaced from its larger or intake end.

It is another object of the invention to provide an air cleaner including a substantially bellshaped body member which is open at its oppo site ends, and, more specifically, to provide an air cleaner such as described above which is provided with a baflie plate over and spaced from its larger or intake end.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the course of the following description of the preferred embodiment of my invention which is shown in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing- V v v Fig. 1 is a side elevation of any air cleaner installed on the air intake'conduit of the carbureter.

of an internal combustion engine; 7 Fig. 2 is an intake end elevation of my air cleaner; and 1 Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Referring tothe drawinggthe reference character 5 indicates an internal combustion engine 5 on the front end of which is mounted; the usual fan 6 which when the engine is running forces .legs 16 are preferably made of such length that rent of air rearwardly over the engine and at wardly curved sides of the air cleaner 11 is dea current of air rearwardly-about the engine. At 'Lis shown the intake manifold which opens into, the intake ports in the side of the engine block and which is provided withthe usual riser 8 to which the carbureter-'9 is connected. 60. Thecarbureter is preferably of the type in which the air intake 10 opens toward the rear of the engine, as shown in the drawing.

7 My air cleaner, which is designated generally bythe referencecharacter 11,.includes abody member 12, which is ifrusto-conoidal,v or, more specifically, substantially bell-shaped as shown in the drawing. It is'preferable to make the flared end portion 13 of the body member of the shape of the surface generated by revolving the 70.

arc of a circle about an axis parallel with the plane of said circle and outside of the circumference thereof. Preferably, and as shown in the drawing, the flared-out portion merges at its smaller end tangentially into a cylindrical por- V tion 14 and extendsin the'opposite direction to the point at which a tangent to its surface makes an angle of 60 with the axis of the cylindrical portion. v l

l A bafile plate 15, smaller in diameter than the greatest diameter of the body member, is secured to and spaced therefrom by thelegs 16 which extend into the flared-out portion and are secured thereto in any suitable manner. The

the baille plate is spaced from the body member a sufllcient distance to provide an air inlet o'pening 1'7 between the body and the plate of at least twice the area of theair intake opening in the carbureter.

As shown in Fig. 1, the air cleaner is mounted. on the carbureter withits cylindrical portion in the mouth of the air intake thereof and secured thereto in any desired manner. The larger of air intake end of the cleaner, it will be noted, is pointed toward the rear of the engine and the longitudinal axis of the cleaner is substantially parallel with that of the engine.

When the engine starts, the fan'6 forces a curthe same time air is drawn into the engine cylinders through the air inlet opening 1'7 and the carbureter. The portion of the current of air generated by the fan which strikes the out.-

flected more and more from the direction of the axis of the cleaner as it travels from front to rear. thereof, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. Any dust particles carried by the air are thus given a motion in a direction which carries them away from the air inlet opening 17. The air inthe air current drawn therethrough is insuflicient to overcome the velocity which the curved sides of the cleaner-give the dust particles in a direction away from the inlet opening so that the dust particles with a portion 'of the air current pass by'the inlet opening, as indicated by the arrows at the extreme left in Fig. 1." The strength of the suction is, however, sufficient to draw a portion of the air vfrorn'the current inwardly, as indicated by the arrows, where after impinging against the bafiie plate 15 it enters the cleaner through the inlet opening 1'7, the

batlie plate preventing any dust which'remains,

-endand whose sides from adjacent the smaller in the air from entering thecleaner therewith.

It is apparent that I have provided an air -tudinal axis of the body member, and a bafile cleaner of very simple construction, which offers practically no resistance to air currents passing therethrough and is efiicient in removing Solid impurities from the air. It is obvious that my cleaner may be installed: on an engine having a carbureter whose air intake does not open toward the'rear by providing a curved conduit which opens at one end into the air intake of thecarbureter and'at itsother end, to whichthe air cleaner is to be connected, toward therear of the engine.'

My air cleaner is not restricted to use with the carbureter of an internal combustion en'- gine, but may'be'used wherever air is to be drawn from a moving current ofair. To operate prop erly the cleaner should be positioned, in all cases, so that its air intake end faces in the direction toward which the current 'of air is traveling.

, I claim:

1. In an air cleaner, a'body member which is open at its opposite ends and which is of greater diameter atits intake end than at its discharge end and which has inclined sides between its ends, and a bafiie plate over the opening in the larger end of the body member and spaced therefrom.

, 2,,I n an air cleaner, a body member which is open at its opposite ends and which is of greater diameter at its intakejend than at its discharge end divergeiat an increasing rate from the longibodymember and spaced therefrom.

3. In an air cleaner, a body member which is open at itsoppo site ends and which is of greater diameter at its intake end than at its discharge end and'which'hasinclined sides between its ends, a bathe plate over the opening in the larger end of the body member, and means securing the baffie plate to the' body member and spacingitther'efrom so as to leave a substantially annular air intake opening between the baffie plate and the body member. 7

"CALEB E. SUMMERS. 

